Things to Do in San Francisco After You Fly

There are a lot of fun things to do in San Francisco after you fly with us, and we’re going to share some of our favorites here. We’re not going to mention Alcatraz Island or the Golden Gate Bridge, because everyone and their mother already knows about that. Instead, we’re going to give you some of the things you might overlook if you aren’t a San Francisco Bay Area native.

Have a Picnic on the Beach

The Bay Area is full noise, traffic, congestion, and entrepreneurs who work 15 hours a day to make their startup successful. It is nice to escape the grind from time to time. Ocean Beach is one of those places to escape to for an afternoon of peace. One of our tandem instructors has had great success parking here without the typical San Francisco struggle. Glass and/or alcohol is not allowed on the beach, but — shhh — there often isn’t much of a police presence on the shore. Bonfires ARE allowed in one of the many designated fire pits, but those are often full.

If you want to have more peace and quiet, try finding a spot on the south side of Ocean Beach. A less popular, but more beautiful beach, is Pacifica State Beach. If you really want some privacy, try the beach at Mussel Rock Park. Aside from the rare fisherman or occasional paraglider landing, you’ll have most of the beach to yourself.

Eat Some Delicious Organic Tacos at the Green Enchilada

The tacos at the Green Enchilada are killer! One of our tandem instructors has a friend who will often battle traffic, not only to photograph us as we fly, but also to indulge in the tacos (and we suspect the tacos are the primary reason he comes out — who could blame him?). In his own words: “If you have a taco addiction, this is the place to get them — their food will leave you craving more!” Aside from their delicious tacos, they offer other Mexican dishes, all with organic ingredients! We have yet to try something there that we didn’t like!

See the San Francisco Skyline at Night

There is something incredible and inspiring to the San Francisco skyline at night We would love to fly at night, but we’re only allowed to fly 30 minutes before sunrise and after sunset. In order to see the skyline from above, you’ll either need to spend $500 an hour for a helicopter to take you, or find a tall building to look out at. Here are some of the buildings we suggest:

Coit Tower: Once the tallest building in San Francisco. It costs $8 to take the elevator, which was originally installed in 1933, to the top.

Twin Peaks: Twin Peaks is that stereotypical hill where high schoolers go to make out and smoke weed. The only difference is that there’s more people around here. Free 20 minute parking. (Thanks for the recommendation Olivia!)

Get a Tour of AT&T Park

You’d never think of AT&T Park as being one of the things to do in San Francisco when there’s not a Giants game playing, but the stadium tour is quite interesting even if you aren’t interested in sports. You get an opportunity to go into the press box, see some of the VIP suites, stand on the strictly-manicured grass, learn about how they maintain such a large area of grass to such meticulous levels, etc. Finding parking in this part of San Francisco is a challenge. We recommend you find parking in a part of the city where you don’t have to struggle and take an Uber or Lyft in. It is cheaper and easier than the lots that will charge you $30 or more.

Segway Tours!

Before you step onto a Segway, you may think it might be challenging to ride. In reality, after about 5 minutes of practice, you’ll be zooming around like a pro! These puppies take almost no skill to ride. You can get tours through Golden Gate Park, Fisherman’s Wharf, Chinatown & Little Italy, and more. Once you’ve taken one of these basic tours, the Electric Tour Company will allow you to go on one their more advanced tours, once of which takes you down Lombard Street. Yes, you can go down that super windy and super steep (a 27 degree decline) hill on a Segway! You’re supposed to wear these really ugly vests that make you look like a super nerd, but you shouldn’t feel bad about that — San Francisco is full of super nerds!

These are some of our favorite things to do in San Francisco. If you have any unique, strange, or quirky suggestions, please feel free to add them in the comment section and we might consider making you famous and adding them to the list!